And this is why I think loyalty to the first one you encountered is stupid:

The world has become so small and humans so smart that we can now choose our own leaders in each field, instead of following the same ones our parents follow.

Try all the new things you can, and learn about all the different things you can. Do not blindly follow one government, religion, belief, or institution of education, but instead explore them all and take the best parts of each for yourself.

You will then find/build those that match y0urself well. You will increase the enjoyment you find in life the more you grow your beliefs and choose your leaders.

If you always learn in all ways, you will become your own leader.

People say they want to change the world and better humanity. And I agree, in a way.

You must contribute to your society and change some lives to really achieve anything. But I think you must first choose which society you choose to call yours.

The people I see around me on the streets are, in my view, just people. The people who call the same country (or even planet) "home" as me do not hold any special value to me.

But the people within who I think/know lies the potential to enjoy life and make a change in the world: those are the people I want to fuel and be fueled by. They are my tribe; the society I choose to call my own.

Changing their lives and increasing their enjoyment is a huge measurement that I am living a life worth living.

P.S. Both of these posts were born of a discussion I'm still having with my new and very impressive friend Max Alexander Hanna. Without his input, I would never have come to these realizations or been able to share them with you.

The people I see around me on the streets are, in my view, just people.
The people who call the same country (or even planet) "home" as me do
not hold any special value to me.

This reply like your post is also related to my last reply on your previous post :-P. Anyway I agree that we need to solidly define ourselves and place ourselves into positions with like minded people in order to have the most leverage in changing the world and enjoying ourselves. On that note though I'd urge you to try and include 'the people who don't hold any special value to me'' as your people too - even if you vehemently disagree on everything. You never know when you'll need one of these people to fix your engine or do surgery on you. How would you think they'd feel if they were working on something for you and found your post which straight up told them they were not one of 'your people'? Everyone has this subconscious need to be loved/approved/whatever you wanna call it by others. Only through widening acceptance of others can we break out of our cycle as a society of the us. vs them/seperation mode of thinking.

I met a guy once who was the total opposite of me. Just to boot I think he just about hated me and everything about me and what I stood for. We'd always get into fights but the more I was around him the more I noticed in some ways how I was similar to him despite our polar differences. We were both heavily into what we believed in and wouldn't back down. We both had that intensity about us. With each passing battle I started to see that the person I was fighting was almost a reflection of myself - just coming in from the other end.

A while back ago too I was certain the United States was head first going into economic/social/cultural collapse and anarchy. I actually found an online copy of the Army Survival Manual and started to absorb the contents so that I could save myself from the coming armageddon. I did this until I stumbled upon a nationalist white supremacist anti-immigration website somehow while browsing the net aimlessly. On that website were rantings very similar in nature to mine and you guessed it - a direct link to the Army Survival Manual. Point is if you really look for the differences in people you will always find them. This works vice-versa as well - if you look for the things in people that relate them to yourself you will eventually find them. Why not take the more empowering and unifying frame and try to see everyone as worthy of respect as you see yourself?

I'm actually a bit conflicted on that point at the moment. I read Colin Wright's Networking Awesomely this morning, and in it in mentioned including in your network a bunch of people who are nothing like you.

I agree with that. As long as I can see the person's drive or passion for something, I can learn from them.

But do I really want to include people who have jobs they hate and refuse to do anything but complain about them. Or people who live without ever learning, assuming the end of university was the end of reading, and just stagnate. How could knowing these people possibly help me?

Hmm that is a sticking point for sure. I'd say just be cordial and keep them at arm's length. I guess what I was trying to say then was to give the same amount of respect for those people that you'd give to someone you hold close. There was a small subtlety in your original words that seperated people into 2 groups - the masses and your personal network. You can definitely keep people who can't hold their weight out of your personal network but you can do it with class. Don't be actively condescending towards people outside your personal network as you may need them one day. Yeah I think that was the point I was trying to make. Maybe you already were respectful but I just mistranslated your original post because it seemed like you were seperating people and showing active disregard for 'the masses' who don't hold any special value to you.

Read Next

A couple days ago I read a book recommended by Tyler, whose blog is the only blog I read religiously.

Anyway, the book is about mastery, and it really rang true for me. In it the author talks about the different types of people who are NOT masters, and I am pretty clearly one of them. I'm "the hacker".

What that means is that I get some level of proficiency below mastery, get satisfied with it, and don't progress. I'm acutely aware of this - I get to the level where other people respect my skill, but never push myself as far as I could go / would like.

I have been a reader of your blog for quite a while now, and I decided it's time to try to connect with you. I am very impressed by the quality of your blog posts and I enjoy reading them daily. And I am aware that you don't have much time for reading emails lately (which is good, people reach out to you and they should reach out. It is great that you offer yourself like this!), so I'll try to keep my first email brief.

I am starting to grow an interest in existentialism, religious and spiritual philosophy. Since I'm just starting this field I would like to start off with the right material, so I was wondering if you could recommend me some books or other material on these subjects?

Of course I completely understand if you don't have time for it, or if this email flies right into the trash folder - some things are not meant to be.